


Did You Know?

by Fufflebumps (Pippip_hurray)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Drama, F/M, Gabrinette - Freeform, Gen, IDENTITY SHENANIGANS, Jealousy, Ladymoth, Oneshot, Secrets, Swearing, gabrinette mention, going to be a thing, ladybug is not very forthcoming or honest sometimes, ladymoth mention, lets assume that if the fic is showing up under this pseud, like girl, partial reveal, pic your fic accordingly, poor chat is not okay, sorta reveal, that age gap and age difference are probably
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-23
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2019-02-05 23:13:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,815
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12804471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pippip_hurray/pseuds/Fufflebumps
Summary: He was there ahead of her, staring out at the lights of the city, his shoulders back, back straight, and his hands clasped behind him. It was a familiar stance that belonged to a few men in her life who benefited from the restraint and perceived control that this position garnered. It was disconcerting in a young man generally given to great energy. It was a testament to how out of control he must feel.“Chat, hey. What's wrong?”...“Did you know?”





	Did You Know?

**Author's Note:**

> I was entertaining myself in the hospital waiting room and playing in my writing sandbox. Enjoy!
> 
> This one-shot contains reference to a [sexual] relationship between two characters with an **age gap** \- in case you didn't get that from the tags. So, **HEADS UP** . DL;DR.  
>  >!< >!< >!< >!< >!< >!< >!< >!< >!<

When Chat had left her a message on the communicator that he needed to talk to her, he had sounded tense, closed off. They weren't supposed to meet until later in the night, so Ladybug had an entire afternoon to worry. Was he just in a mood because of something going on in his private life? He hadn't insisted on meeting right away, so it couldn't be miraculous related, could it? Work seemed more interminable than usual. It was with a mixture of relief and worry that the day came closer to its end and she was finally able to transform and run the roofs of Paris to meet with her partner and one of her closest friends at the top of building in a quiet, commercial neighborhood where they could be discreet.

He was there ahead of her, staring out at the lights of the city, his shoulders back, back straight, and his hands clasped behind him. It was a familiar stance that belonged to a few men in her life who benefited from the restraint and perceived control that this position garnered. It was disconcerting in a young man generally given to great energy. It was a testament to how out of control he must feel.

“Chat, hey. What's wrong?”

Chat Noir was silent, surveying her down the length of his nose as she stood before him. It was unnerving. If he were older- if his hair were slicked back and up- if his eyes were grey-blue- if he moonlighted in a purple suit- if he were her clandestine paramour, he could be easily mistaken for another man. He still said nothing, but there was an icy fire behind his eyes that he couldn't disguise.

“Talk to me; tell me what's the matter.”

“Did you know?”

She cocked her head to one side, her brow furrowed and her face scrunched in confusion. “Did I know what?”

Her response set off a trigger, melting the ice and letting the fire flame. He gesticulated wildly with both his arms, “ _Did you fucking know?_ ”

“ _What are you talking about, Chat Noir?_ ” Ladybug's hands flew to her hips in a defiant pose.

Chat screwed up his face like he didn't know how to even form the words.

“You've obviously been stewing on this all day and didn't want to bring it up earlier. I'm walking in blind, here. Help me so I can help you!”

“Hawkmoth,” he spat.

“Did I know what about Hawkmoth? That he's a part of the team, now? Has been for over a year, Chat. Yeah, I knew that.” Her eyes narrowed. “Did you time-travel or get yourself knocked in the head during another sparring match with Rena?”

“What? No!” He stalked around the rooftop with his hands in tight fists, stomping his boots. He was more himself now, at least, but his agitation with her- or something- was still very present. He wanted answers to something. “When you encouraged him to- to be part of the team, did you know who he was- is?”

“No.” She hadn't then. She raised an eyebrow. “Do _you_ know who he is?”

He turned away from her and drew in a ragged breath. Oh, he did know.

“Other than the obvious safety logistics of knowing identities, how is it so significant that you would ask me to meet you here and then treat me like I've been hiding something life-altering from you?” She waved her hands in the air as she said it.

“Haven't you, though?” He turned to her again, catching her eyes and maintaining her gaze. “I get that you don't always let the whole team in on information you don't think they need to know. But this is different. You're extra careful, but it just makes it that much easier to tell that you're keeping something from us- at least from me! For months, Ladybug! Like, since the beginning of the year!” She blanched and looked away. “Something is going on with you, and I know it involves Hawkmoth, and I can't figure it out. If it's not who he is, then what is it?”

Carnival. Mardi Gras. She hadn't known who Hawkmoth was for sure, but a girl could only take so many coincidences- and waking up next to Gabriel Agreste when you were sure you'd been sharing a bed with Hawkmoth would be one hell of a coincidence to ignore. They'd both been reckless. And the subsequent continuing relationship had brought its own sets of complications to her superheroing. He was a tease, and now he knew that Marinette's buttons worked on Ladybug. Trying to hide that from her teammates was a huge challenge- that had apparently not been entirely successful. The only saving grace was that Hawkmoth's buttons worked on Gabriel. The relationship between Marinette and Gabriel was known to their closest associates at least. Telling Chat, who apparently knew that Gabriel Agreste was Hawkmoth, that she was involved with the man, could cause all manner of issues- namely the secret identity of one Marinette Dupain-Cheng/Ladybug- or that she was some kind of heart breaker playing with someone who wasn't available, or even that she was in a relationship with herself and Gabriel. That would be hilarious but fraught.

She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I'm sorry, I can't tell you. Please, just trust me that everything is fine. I'm... adjusting to some overlap.”

There was a sharp inhale from Chat and he asked lowly, “Are you sleeping with him?”

She glared at him. “Wha- Chat- Y- Seriously?”  
“We're a team, LB- you remind us of that all the time- if something is going to mess with that dynamic, you need to tell us!”

'First you're mad because you think I know who Hawkmoth is- even though you seem to know already- and now you're accusing me of sleeping with him? What the hell, Chat? You started out mad at me! What is really going on here!”

Chat frowned. “I believe that you didn't know when he 'reformed' who he was, but I do not believe that you don't know now. And-” he pulled up something on his communicator, showing her a couple of photos- “apparently Rena is into investigative journalism because these photos of you two are pretty damning.” The first was Ladybug talking closely to Hawkmoth away from the group. His hand had found away to resting on her hip where he had likely been rubbing light circles with his thumb. Dammit, Gabriel.. The next was ostensibly on the roof of the Gabriel offices with Gabriel. He was kissing her hand- her palm- an intimate (even sweet) gesture but Rena had caught the hunger in her eyes as she looked at him. “This next one is pretty steamy. I ,” he flipped to the next photo, his face determined.

Oh. _Oh_. Oh _god_. She really hoped Rena hadn't stayed for the whole of that scene. It had been in a private alcove under cover of night and she had been charged with not making a sound unless she wanted a punishment. She'd _really_ wanted- Ladybug tried to keep a neutral expression as she looked at the picture that reminded her of a _very_ good night (despite her kwami's scolding for misusing the miraculous- again). She was glad it was night now and Chat wouldn't be able to see her blush.

“Rena takes good pictures, Chat. And if I didn't know who he was before, I might have a very good idea now.” Ladybug crossed her arms and glared at him.

“No! No you don't, Ladybug. This is about you keeping secrets- important secrets, from your team- from me!”

“Well, this doesn't seem like much of a secret if you and Rena both know!”

“We were worried, Bug. I had no idea that opening this can of worms would- would-” He was really trying not to lose his temper. There was so much wrong with what she was doing and had done! “ The team dynamics are clearly not awesome right now because you refused to be open with us about things that would obviously affect us... And he is not- Do you know about his girlfriend? Does she know about you? God, one of you wasn't enough for him, he had to go and have both of you!” He groaned loudly.

This was one of those things she was worried about and why she'd tried to hide this from the team. She hadn't been careful enough, and now multiple covers were being blown. Fantastic. Because now she knew that Chat was a part of her inner circle in her off-superhero-time, and that was a really short list. She put a hand up, “Chat, we're adults. Mostly responsible. And I'm sorry for not being more forthright from the beginning so you and I wouldn't be here with this right now. You're right. I messed up. But if you keep talking, I won't just know who he is.”

“Augh! Fuck! God-fucking-damnit! Of-fucking-course!” She winced at the harshness of his response. He threw his hands in the air and stomped away again, growling, he approached the edge of the building and stood there. Was he going to leave? He wasn't moving. Just staring. Glaring at the city like it had personally wronged him.

She gave him a minute before walking up behind him, careful to make some noise so as not to startle him on top of his ire. Tentatively, she reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. His frown deepened and he shrugged it off. “Are we going to be okay?”

He shook his head, not looking at her, “Maybe. Probably. I don't know. I don't like being kept in the dark. If I'm honest, I'm more upset that you didn't talk to me- nevermind the rest of the team. We were partners first before all of that. I don't- I didn't need or want to know about the specifics, but a heads up about the status change...” He cringed and exhaled, his shoulders stooping, saying softly, “Aw, fuck it. I had to be happy for them. She's my friend and I had no claim on her. She's amazing and kind and smart and a little scary- actually, she's a good match for him. He's better now, you know? Ever since- well, you know. It's nice to see him smile once in a while, too. She does that to people. She makes them want to be better. She believes in us and is always there to help. She's sweet and considerate-” he chuckled mirthlessly- “but she is also so cunning. And irresistibly stubborn as hell.” He gave her a pained expression. “Ladybug, even if she is okay with you and Father, I don't want to be happy for you two, too. Not right now. Is that okay?”

She inhaled sharply and covered her mouth. “Oh, Adrien.”

 


End file.
